Beauty is the battlefield where God and Satan contend with each other for the hearts of men.

— Fyodor Dostoyevski

When I set out to create an online magazine the convincing factor was this; to ponder, think, and write about beauty. And, to invite others to do the same. Frontier Journal is a collection of creative works that invokes thoughtfulness and invites us to reflect on beauty. Shared by the stories of everyday people. May you be refreshed and inspired here.

— Isaac Smith

We live in a mad world

Every time you step out the door you are exposed to a mild degree of trauma. Road rage, busy people in a rush to get from one thing to the next. No time to spare, we are always multitasking. We are people addicted to busyness.

We long for beauty, adventure, and depth in relationship. But we mostly experience cheap replicas, mundaneness, and being misunderstood.

We long for significance and impact. But we mostly experience un-fulfilment and disappointment.

When I find my heart weary and run down, I don’t find relief in social feeds.

If we slow down enough to notice the beauty around us, it is usually for only a moment. Notifications, smartphones, and email claw for our attention while true beauty fades all around us.

In many senses; to read beautiful words, to write beautiful stories, to reflect on beauty, and to take in the beauty of creation is a wonderful medicine. To be candid, this is a self prescribed medicine. To assign myself the task of regularly writing and pondering the themes of beauty and adventure.

We Connect through Story

Stories move us. Be it books, films, or sitting around a campfire swapping fish stories. They have profound impact on our hearts. I wanted to gather a collection of writings that would inspire others. To share the stories of people just like you and I, engaging in heroic bravery of wild frontiers.

These stories may not be quite what you think. There is bravery in being a stay at home mom of four young children. It takes the strength of a man to care for his spouse's heart and love his children well.

You don’t have to strap a go-pro to your head and jump out of an airplane to experience adventure.

A story is unfolding all around us every day of our lives. The trick is, do we have eyes to see it? The stories you will find here may not be all that different from your own. There is beauty and adventure written in your story, it just may take a little digging to find it.

Photo taken in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Hiking up to Black Lake.

Support this Work

If you find you like what you find here, I ask two things.

Share them with people in your world. Simply text them a link to an article/piece you are enjoying and start a conversation. This does wonders to friendships when we relate over content that is stirring our soul.

Second, shoot over to Patreon and support this work at $2 / month. This helps cover the cost of hosting and domain fees and eases the personal financial commitment. I wish to offer this collection of creative work for free for others to gleam from and enjoy, which in turn costs me a small on-going financial cost.